


1.05: Raiding the Closet

by JustLikeTheSong



Series: NYC Spin-Off 'Verse [6]
Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-20
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 06:44:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/647705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustLikeTheSong/pseuds/JustLikeTheSong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(1) When Rachel and Blaine give Kurt, Santana, and Mike a tour of NYADA, they can't resist a musical number, and Rachel runs into Brody.</p><p>(2) Blaine and Santana visit Kurt at Vogue.</p><p>(3) Santana tries to find where she belongs at NYU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fool, Forget Him

“…it’s a really lovely classroom, if unfortunately sullied by the presence of Cassandra July all too often,” [Rachel](http://photos.posh24.com/p/1640457/z/style_spotlight/lea_michele_black_lace_dress_m.jpg) said as she closed the door of her dance class.

“Rachel, why don’t we show them the main auditorium?” [Blaine](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmpc8dVe5N1qeds6ko1_500.png) said as he took [Kurt’s](http://d2tq98mqfjyz2l.cloudfront.net/image_cache/1294090084230539.jpeg) hand and led the way as [Mike](http://www4.images.coolspotters.com/photos/253899/harry-shum-jr-and-superdry-club65-leather-jacket-gallery.jpg) fell in step beside him and Rachel and [Santana](http://i.cocoperez.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/naya-rivera-american-horror-story-premiere-los-angeles__oPt.jpg) followed,  “I’m pretty sure no one’s in there right now.”

She wanted to skip ahead, but she suppressed the urge and settled for a dignified walk in her heels, skirt swishing around her knees.  “That’s a great idea.”

“I’m going to have to come check out some of the productions,” Mike said to Blaine, “see how the dancing at this fancy school measures up.”

“I’m pretty sure you could be hired as a teacher here, Mike,” Kurt said wryly.

“No, Kurt, while Mike is very gifted, he hasn’t had very much formal training.  I think he’d be quite out of his element in ballet class,” Rachel said, and the guys looked over their shoulders at her, eyebrows raised.  “What?  It’s true!  Mike, you know I think you’re very talented, but-“

“Quit digging yourself deeper, Berry,” Santana sighed, “in fact, just give me the shovel so I can hit you over the head with it.”

Rachel tried to think of a comeback, but nothing came to mind, so she suffered in silence as Santana smirked at her.

“You know,” Santana then said, “if this July bitch keeps riding your ass, I can always come teach  _her_  a lesson.  I mean, I’m all for telling you how much you suck, but I’m not your professor.”

Rachel looked at her in surprise and then smiled.  “Santana, that’s very sweet.”  She looped her arm through Santana’s and held just a little tighter when Santana made, in her estimation, a very poor attempt to pull away.

Once they made it to the auditorium, the five of them spread out on the stage.

“Whoa,” Mike said, “I just had a weird sense of déjà vu.”

“It does take me back,” Kurt said, “I think the last time the five of us were on a stage together was…”

“Graduation,” Rachel finished for him, feeling a little wistful.  “Remember after Nationals when New Directions sang  _We Are the Champions_?  I think that was the last time we were all in the auditorium together.”

“Stop, I’m about to cry,” Santana said sarcastically.

“Don’t pretend you don’t miss it sometimes,” Blaine teased her.

“Yeah, Miss ‘glee club is the best part of my day’,” Kurt said with a laugh.

Santana rolled her eyes.  “Fine.  I miss it sometimes.  Especially geeking out with Brittany during group numbers that were just for fun.”

Rachel had an idea.  “We should do one right now.  Just for fun.”

“Rachel, there’s no music,” Kurt said.

“Remember what you said to me when we snuck in to the Gershwin?” Rachel reminded him with an impish smile as she took his arm.  “Make the music with your mind.  And we have our voices, too.  Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Mike shrugged his shoulders and nodded his approval, and Santana rolled her eyes in that grudgingly amused way that said she was in, too.

“They’re doing Grease at McKinley this year,” Blaine mused, before smiling at Rachel, “I think I know the perfect song.”

Rachel grinned back.  She knew exactly what he had in mind.

[ _“_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pyA6jAM3_I)[ _A wop ba-ba lu-mop_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pyA6jAM3_I)[ _!”_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pyA6jAM3_I) Blaine shouted, thrusting his fist into the air.

 _“A wop bam boom!”_  Rachel called back, jumping up and down when Mike rocked his hips back and forth in time with her words and Kurt let out a laugh.

Rachel and Blaine strutted towards each other.   _“We got together like rama lama lama…”_

Kurt chimed in on  _“Chang chang! Changity chang shoo-bop…”_  as Mike picked Santana up and spun her in a circle.  Rachel grabbed Kurt and Blaine’s hands and twirled them at the same time before skipping downstage and letting them dance together.

All five of them sang together:  _“We’ll always be like one, wa wa wa waaa!”_

As Santana and Blaine tried to mimic Mike’s fancy footwork and Kurt took Rachel’s hands so they could spin in a dizzy circle, Rachel was hit with a powerful wave of nostalgia.  She could see them all there now, on the stage with them.  Mercedes and Sam dressed as Sandy and Danny, Brittany doing cartwheels in a poodle skirt, Artie popping wheelies in a leather jacket, Puck doing pelvic thrusts in every direction, Tina and Sugar doing the hand jive, Quinn trying not to look like she was having too much fun. 

_“..and at the high school dance, where you can find romance…”_

And Finn, too, in his letterman’s jacket, pretending to know how to dance.  Her heart clenched painfully.  She knew she had made the right decision in breaking up with Finn, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, and that she didn’t miss what they had shared.  She knew New York was where she was meant to be, but that didn’t mean the family she had found in New Directions no longer mattered to her.  It was nice, if bittersweet, to imagine them all performing together again.

_“We’ll always be together, we’ll always be together…”_

She looked around at Mike flipping Santana over, at Kurt and Blaine giggling through the lyrics as they flapped their knees back and forth, and she knew the lyrics were true, in some small way.

***

They left the auditorium exhilarated, if a little out of breath and sweaty, and the sound of Brody’s voice behind her had Rachel hastily fixing her bangs before she turned around.

“Rachel, wait up!”

She smiled when she saw [him](http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/fp/Dean+Geyer+Dean+Geyer+Gives+Gleeful+Interview+umpNNteD4T9l.jpg), trying to reign in her nerves.  “Hi Brody.”

“Okay, well, Blaine, why don’t you give us a tour of the costume department?” Kurt said, nudging Blaine, who hastily took his hand and led them away.

“Good seeing you, Brody,” Blaine said as they left.

“You too, man,” Brody replied, before grinning down at Rachel.  “So, how’s it going?”

“Finn and I are done,” she blurted, and then blushed.  “I mean…”

“You guys broke up, for real this time?”

“Well…yes.”

“I told you.  Long distance relationships just don’t work,” Brody said with a wink, and he took a step closer to her.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Rachel said, looking up at him from beneath her lashes, “but short distance relationships definitely have their advantages…”

A lazy smile spread across Brody’s face, and his hand came up to cup the back of her neck.  “That’s true.  It’s a lot easier to kiss, for example,” he said.

“It is,” Rachel breathed, tilting her face up a little, their lips almost touching.

She closed her eyes as he kissed her, twisting her fingers into the material of his shirt.  Her heart beat faster as he wrapped an arm around her waist and slipped his tongue into her mouth.  When his lips were against hers, it was easy to forget her longing for the past.  When he kissed her, she felt more like grown-up, sophisticated, New York Rachel, who suited the dress she was wearing.  When he finally let her go, she was smiling and breathing heavily.

“There’s, um, my friends and I are going to a Halloween party at NYU this weekend,” she said, trying to sound casual.  She hadn’t ever asked a boy out before, much less a mature, worldly man like Brody.  “Will you be my date?”

“Sure,” he said, tucking her hair behind her ear, “if you let me pick our costumes.”

That meant couple’s costumes.  Rachel already had an amazing costume planned for herself, but she readily agreed, leaning up to kiss Brody again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> We Go Together (Grease) by Blaine, Rachel, Kurt, Santana, and Mike


	2. Visiting Vogue

[Kurt](http://25.media.tumblr.com/7f592ef04f63f93810ec65d776a4dbc8/tumblr_meud63oNqY1rtx3n1o9_250.gif) followed just behind [Chase](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mch98i0kIG1rhecpoo1_400.png), nodding needlessly as his superior rattled off instructions for his afternoon and writing them down on his pad of stationary.

“…and we’ve got that meeting at two about this week’s website theme, so make sure you pick up coffee for everyone.  Oh, and a shipment of Hermes scarves was supposed to arrive today but hasn’t yet, so you may have to stay late to sign for that; I don’t know  _what’s_  going on there…looks like you have company.”

Kurt looked up, confused, and followed Chase’s gaze towards his desk, where [Santana](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_men6bktvf61qeds6ko1_500.jpg) had her fists up like a boxer and [Blaine](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdiwa8tk8H1qg49w0o5_r1_400.jpg) was adjusting her stance.

“That your boyfriend?” Chase asked, smiling.  “You weren’t lying; he  _is_  cute.  You two make a good-looking couple.”

Kurt blushed and thanked him, rushing to his desk when Chase waved him away.

“Hi!” he greeted Blaine and Santana, sounding maybe a little too enthusiastic, but he’d had a long day and he hadn’t even had his lunch break yet.  It was a nice surprise that they had decided to pop by.  “What are you two doing here?”

Santana leaned to sit on the edge of his desk as Blaine kissed him hello.  “Well, we both had free time today because of midterms, and I figured if Berry got her hands on some free designer threads, so should I.”

Blaine shook his head with a smile.  “We wanted to come visit you!  Rachel had plans with Brody.  I brought you lunch.  I’m way overdue to come visit you at your glamorous job again, anyway.”

“How sweet,” Kurt said, his eyes flitting down to Blaine’s bow tie, “and wanting to meet Isabelle has nothing to do with it, right?”

“Hey!” Blaine’s cheeks colored.  “I always want to see you.  Your boss being fashion innovator Isabelle Wright is entirely irrelevant.”

“What about me?” Oh! Kurt,” [Isabelle](http://media2.onsugar.com/files/2012/09/36/3/192/1922398/6396b57e6c5c3a2c_151278921_10.preview/i/Sarah-Jessica-Parker-Fashion-Lunch-Pictures.jpg) said as she turned the corner and walked towards them with a smile, “who are your friends?”

“Isabelle!” An excited smile bloomed on Kurt’s face.  He’d been dying to introduce Blaine to her, but everyone’s schedules hadn’t quite worked out.  He bounced on his toes a little, clasping his hands together in front of his lap.  “Well, fairy godmother,” he gave her a wink, “may I introduce Prince Charming, and…Lucifer.”

Isabelle laughed, reaching over to squeeze his arm as Santana scowled at him and rolled her eyes.  “No, this is my boyfriend, Blaine,” Kurt said, watching with pride at the way Blaine’s eyes sparkled as he eagerly took Isabelle’s hand.

“Blaine, I finally get to meet the most amazing boyfriend in the world,” Isabelle teased, nudging Kurt, whose cheeks heated up again.  He couldn’t help it if he gushed about Blaine now and then.  Or basically every day.  “I must say, that is a fabulous bow tie.  Who designed it?”

“I believe that was you,” Blaine said, smiling impishly, “it’s wonderful to meet you, Ms. Wright.”

“Oh, right, that  _was_  me,” Isabelle said, placing a hand to her chest and grinning back at him.  Kurt beamed with pride.  His boyfriend and his boss already had a private joke.

“…and this is my friend and room mate, Santana.”

“Hi,” Santana said, “I saw what you did with Rachel.  Nice work.  Miraculous, really.  Even if she is going overboard with it now, in true Rachel Berry style.”

“My friend we gave the makeover to for the video shoot,” Kurt reminded Isabelle.  He frowned.  “She does seem to have really gone to town with her new look.  She got rid of all her old clothes.  It’s kind of weird.”

“Well, I love a good makeover,” Isabelle said, “but there’s something to be said for mixing the old with the new.”

“Exactly,” Santana said, her eyebrows raising and a calculated smile gracing her features, “which is why I figured a couple hot, new additions to my wardrobe would be the perfect thing.”

“Santana!” Kurt hissed, embarrassed, but Isabelle just laughed.

“I like her!  She’s pretty fierce, Kurt.”  This had Santana smirking with a wiggle of her head.  “Alright, just because I’m sure you’re a fantastic friend to Kurt, here, we’ll all go take a peek in the Closet and you can pick out one thing.   _One_.  And nothing from our newest collections,” Isabelle added with a stern look.

Isabelle turned to look at Blaine, and Kurt saw his boyfriend was trying not to look too expectant.  “And Blaine, I’d love for you to choose something for yourself, too.  Of course, I expect you both to take good care of Kurt so he can continue doing such a great job here at Vogue.”

“Thank you, Ms. Wright.  This is so generous,” Blaine said with a charming smile, and Isabelle beamed as he took her hand again.

“Okay, Mr. Charming, stop living up to your nickname,” Kurt teased, looping his arm through Blaine’s, “and let’s go take a look in the Closet.  You’re both going to go nuts once we’re in there; it’s incredible.”

Blaine and Santana did freak out a little upon entering the closet, Santana especially, forgetting herself and running around like a little kid amongst the rows of clothing, her heels clicking on the floor.  Kurt watched fondly as Blaine gazed wide-eyed at the vast collection of cardigans and blazers in front of him.  Isabelle came up beside him and nudged him with her hip.

“I adore him.  Blaine.  That was cute, with the bow tie.”

“He does things like that…thoughtful things,” Kurt said with a happy little smile.

“Looks good on him, too.”

“Everything looks good on him,” Kurt said dreamily as he looked at Blaine, who was holding a dress shirt up against his chest, “and so does noth-“ He stopped himself, blushing furiously as Isabelle chuckled.

“I’ll bet.  Well, you two are a lovely couple, and he obviously makes you happy.  You should bring him around more often,” Isabelle said.

“Will do,” Kurt murmured as she left him to go help Santana try on a [dress](http://25.media.tumblr.com/f0b49b577986aaa987f33db422c0a6f0/tumblr_mernj3pd8N1qkshc5o1_250.png) she had found.

Blaine came up to him a couple minutes later, a big grin on his face, and thrust a pair of [Louboutin loafers](https://31.media.tumblr.com/66b5577f8ab055528a685307b6c739e3/tumblr_mxyibzUSA61s3fphgo1_250.jpg) in his direction.

“I present my selection.  What do you think?”

“Blaine, these are gorgeous,” Kurt said, taking the shoes, “I’m kind of jealous I didn’t see them before.”

“You can always borrow them,” Blaine said grandly, reaching out to take Kurt’s hand.  “Isabelle’s great, by the way.  I can see why you like working for her.  I’m so glad someone’s recognizing how amazing and talented you are.”

“Well, you always did,” Kurt said, pressing a quick kiss to Blaine’s hand.

“And now that we’re out of Lima, the rest of the world will, too,” Blaine told him.  Kurt’s heart fluttered at how sure he seemed, but he just asked Blaine to try on the shoes so he could see how they looked.

“Kurt!” Isabelle called from somewhere he couldn’t see.  “Santana and I just found the most fabulous scarf, and I insist that you have it.  Since everyone’s raiding the Closet today, anyway.”

He leaned against the wall and watched Blaine strut around in the loafers.  This was just the midday pick-me-up he had needed.


	3. The Darkness Is The Light

“The NYU campus is really beautiful,” [Blaine](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdij3xOaNW1rk9c5ho1_500.png) observed. 

“This [park](http://www.nyu.edu/src/images/nyupark.jpg) is really something, isn’t it?” [Kurt](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_loewx3tIda1qgqvnv.jpg) agreed.  “The contrast of the foliage of the trees and hedges with the perfect circles in the middle and the classic and modern architecture surrounding it all is lovely.  I like it.”

“Yeah, it’s a real miracle,” [Santana](http://24.media.tumblr.com/c3a9efdd0658c780eb712b8c383cdf08/tumblr_menuynjm1k1qabm9eo2_r1_250.gif) said, rolling her eyes, “too bad my stomach is busy eating itself so I can’t really appreciate it.  If you two are finished creaming yourselves over landscaping or whatever, can we go get lunch now?”

Kurt gave her a look and Blaine just laughed, but they agreed that it was time to get something to eat.  They walked hand-in-hand beside her, chatting happily and drawing her into the conversation more than she expected.  She hadn’t ever thought she had much in common with Kurt and Blaine, except for the glee club thing, and the gay thing, but sharing a loft with them in New York was showing her they were pretty cool, in their own way.  They were always willing to watch Jersey Shore reruns with her, and she found Kurt’s casual judgement of every other thing Rachel did or said hilarious.  And it was pretty cool of Blaine to offer to teach her some boxing moves (she wanted to have some real fighting techniques to back up her verbal lashings in case some weirdo tried to jump her in a dark New York alley one night).

They went to **‘wichcraft** for lunch, Santana ordering some fancy grilled cheese sandwich (“Aged Gruyère is delicious,” Kurt assured her), and Kurt and Blaine opting to split a mixed green salad and slow roasted pork sandwich.  Santana restrained herself from making a crack about pulled pork just this once.

“So, Santana, how are you finding NYU?” Kurt asked, spearing his fork with salad.  “Have you made any new friends?”

“It’s fine,  _Mom_ ,” she told him.  She took a bite of her sandwich, which did taste pretty good, to give herself some time before she had to respond.  “And…I don’t know.  NYU’s a big campus.  Pretty anonymous.”  She shrugged her shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal.  Ever since she’d quit the cheer team (and she was still glad that she had), she’d felt pretty alone on campus.  She’d never say it out loud, but she was really lucky she had Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine in her life, even if Rachel’s scale warm-ups every morning made her want to punch things, and Kurt and Blaine weren’t exactly quiet themselves, when they thought no one else was home.

“I’m sure there are tons of great people here you just haven’t met yet,” Blaine said, and he reached forward, as if to pat her hand, but then stopped and pulled his hand back.  She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

“I…” she hesitated, looking down at her sandwich briefly, “I was thinking of checking out the jazz choir here on campus.  I heard a couple geeks in my English class talking about having practice today.  Practice on a Saturday.”  She rolled her eyes.  “They must be even bigger losers than New Directions.”

“You were  _in_  New Directions,” Kurt reminded her, eyebrow quirked.

“The cool part of it.  Anyway,” she went on as they rolled their eyes at her, “I thought you guys would like to come with me.  See what kind of talent there is.”

Blaine and Kurt exchanged a look, and Santana tried to ignore it. 

“Sure, Santana.  That’d be great,” Blaine told her.

It was easy enough being an intimidating loner when she wanted, needed, to keep people at a distance.  But Santana was trying this new thing, where she put herself out there without the security of the glee club and was actually hoping someone would want to get to know the real her, the Santana no longer wrapped in a Cheerio skirt and intense loathing of pretty much everything around her, but especially herself.  Having a couple wingmen to help her start out was comforting.  Kind of like training wheels.

She didn’t even realize she had reached out to grip Blaine’s hand as she stood in the doorway of the NYU jazz choir’s practice room, watching a group of more than a dozen people sitting around with handfuls of sheet music and chatting animatedly.

She knocked on the door, fighting to keep a defensive sneer off her face as several people looked up and over at them.

“Hi,” one [girl](http://static.wetpaint.me/glee/ROOT/photos/310/NUP1480072623--1921396649381082608.jpg) said, standing up and walking over to them, “can we help you?”

“I’m Santana,” Santana said.  She was so nervous.  Why was she so nervous?  “I just…heard about this glee club, thought I’d see what you guys get up to.” She cocked a hip, gaining a little confidence at the girl’s friendly expression.  “Oh, these are my…friends, Kurt and Blaine.”

“I’m Christa,” the girl said with a smile.  She looked over her shoulder at the group behind her, who had all resumed their conversation, which seemed to be getting more intense.  “Well, we were just meeting today to tweak our competition set list, but I think we could take a break before an argument breaks out.”  Santana had to suppress a snort at this.  The idea of New Directions preparing so early for a competition or actually trying to prevent a fight from breaking out was hilarious.  “We could use a jam session, to relive some tension.  You guys up for it?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Santana recognized a challenge when she was given one.  This Christa girl seemed nice enough, but Santana could tell she had an inner bitch that liked to come out and play once in a while, and that was something she respected.  “I think we can handle it,” she said with a smirk.

“Great,” Christa replied, turning to her club.  “Hey guys, this is Santana, Kurt, and Blaine.  They’re gonna jam with us, have a little fun, so let’s show them a good time, okay?”  She looked over her shoulder at Santana again.  “See if you can keep up,” she said as the music started.

Santana recognized the [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzV9QExGFQs) right away and she didn’t give anyone else a chance.  She swaggered to the middle of the room, relishing it, the familiarity of a fun performance.  She would always love this, the music, the harmonies, the dancing.  The singing.

 _“I remember when, I remember I remember when I lost my mind,”_  she sang, grinning at the impressed looks on some of their faces,  _“there was something so pleasant about that place…”_

It was cooler than she’d admit, seeing them dance and groove together.  The possibility that she could still have this kind of connection with people even if she could no longer be in the New Directions.

Blaine jumped in:  _“And when you’re out there, without care, yeah, I was out of touch…”_

 _“…but it wasn’t because I didn’t know enough,”_ Kurt finished for him, _“I just knew too much.”_

 _“Does that make me crazy?”_  The three of them harmonized on the chorus to the hoots and catcalls of the jazz choir.

As they started on the second verse, a [guy](http://static.wetpaint.me/glee/ROOT/photos/310/NUP1480074076--475996940300075784.jpg) with red streaking his dark hair grabbed her hand and spun her in a circle, inviting her to dance with him.  She dropped down in her classic bouncing squat (but with her knees together, minding her skirt) and came back up, laughing as the guy imitated her with flair. 

 _“Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are?”_ She sang, shaking her head a little at how relevant the lyrics were.

 _“Ha ha ha, bless your soul!”_  Kurt responded with a flick of his hand.

 _“You really think you’re in control?”_  Blaine asked, shrugging his shoulders at her mock glare.  _“Well…”_

 Christa danced over to her as the whole choir joined them on the chorus.

_“I think you’re crazy, I think you’re crazy, I think you’re crazy, just like me!”_

They sounded great as an ensemble.  The harmonies were near-perfect, and her, Blaine, and Kurt’s voices blended in pretty seamlessly, like they knew how to make room for them.  Like they could make room for her.

_“Maybe we’re crazy, probably!”_

They finished to applause and cheering.  Santana did a mock bow with a flutter of her hand.

“That was great!” The guy with the red hair exclaimed.  “You have a great voice!  I’m Justin, by the way.”

“Santana,” she said, shaking his hand.  “And I’m totally gay and in love with my girlfriend, so don’t try to get handsy.”

Justin just laughed in surprise and put his hands up in mock surrender.  A genuine smile lit up Santana’s face as it occurred to her that just a year ago, there was no way she would have even considered admitting that to anyone, much less some random guy.

“He’s right, though,” Christa said, resting her elbow on Justin’s shoulder, “you have an awesome voice.  Really smoky.”

“Thanks,” Santana told her, high from the performance, “I quit smoking cigars a year ago, but luckily the voice stuck around anyway.  I was thinking about joining your choir; you guys have a decent vibe.”

Her heart plummeted at the awkward looks on Christa and Justin’s faces.

“Oh,” Justin said, “well, the thing is, we don’t really…accept new members once the school year starts.”

“We like to keep a tight ship throughout the school year to really polish our group for competitions,” Christa said, “but you should definitely come audition in the spring, when we look for new members for the next year.”

“Right,” Santana said.  Her mouth felt dry.  “Well, like I said, I was just thinking about it.  I’d probably be too busy with other stuff anyway.  Wouldn’t be able to make it a priority.”  She ignored the sympathetic looks on their faces.  “Come on, guys, we’re taking up all their time for discussing their set list,” she said to Blaine and Kurt.  She fought to keep from spitting the words.

As they walked down the hall, Blaine put a hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off.

“Santana,” Kurt said, his voice soft, “they really liked you.”

“Maybe I didn’t like them, Hummel.  In case you haven’t noticed, not many people meet my standards.”   _Or maybe I don’t meet many people’s standards._   “Did you see that Christa bitch trying to out-hot me?  Who did she think she was kidding?  And the guy with the red hair, Justin, what a –“

“Handsome, talented fellow?” A voice finished her sentence behind them.  Santana spun on her heel to see Justin jogging to catch up to them.

“Hey,” he said, “so, so I know you can’t really audition for the group right now, but you really should in the spring; I mean it.  Your voice is…well, it’s meant for jazz.”

Santana stared at him.  “Anything else, Rufio?”

He let out a nervous laugh.  “Good one.  Anyway, aside from the jazz choir thing, I think you guys are pretty cool.  Even if you’re kind of scary,” he said to Santana, and she heard Kurt snicker behind her.  “My floor is having a Halloween party next Saturday.  It would be great if you guys could come.  I’m in Brittany, second-“

He broke off at Blaine and Kurt’s startled giggling.  “Shut up, you morons,” Santana snarled behind her.  “Brittany is the name of my girlfriend,” she told Justin with a glare, even though she knew it was an innocent mistake.

“Oh,” he said, coloring.  “Well, then, Brittany Hall is the residence at which I am located.  The party’s on the second floor.  So you should come!”  He seemed to find his confidence back.  “And Santana, I know I’m just some random dude, but you should think about picking Music as a minor if you haven’t picked one yet.  It’s a great department, lots of fun people, some interesting courses.”

Santana didn't really know what to say at this turn of events, so Kurt piped up.

“The party sounds fun.  We’d love to come.”

“Yeah, and we’ll try to convince Santana to come along,” Blaine said, laughter in his voice, “she’s kind of a wallflower, sort of shy, if you didn’t notice.”

“Doesn’t stand out.  Not really one for speaking her mind,” Kurt added, and the three guys chuckled.

But it didn’t raise Santana’s hackles.  It didn’t seem like they were laughing at her, more like they were…enjoying her.  All throughout high school, people had either feared her or hated her, and she had always secretly been terrified that they would laugh at her if they knew her secrets.  She had spent so long hiding herself from anyone who wasn’t Brittany, that people actually enjoying the real her was still kind of a novel experience.

She decided she liked it.

***

[Santana](http://media01.partyfiesta.com/Products/large/dark-fallen-angel-costume-SMF_38887XS-20121205163507.png) arrived at the party before anyone else she knew, feeling kind of stupid before [Christa and Justin](http://i2.cdnds.net/12/29/618x309/realitytv_glee_project_s02_e07_5.jpg) spotted her and came over immediately.

“Wow, girl, you look hot!” Christa told her.

“I’m glad you came,” Justin said, “where are your friends?”

“They’re on their way,” Santana said, “probably got held up having a quickie or something.  I invited a couple other people, too.”

“Great, the more the merrier,” Justin said.

“Oh! I love this song! Let’s go dance!” Christa said, grabbing her hand.

Kurt arrived just as the song finished and swished his way over to her.

“Wow, Kurticia,” Santana said, taking in his dark make up and black wig, “if I didn’t know what kind of hardware you were packing under that dress, I’d bang you.”

“I think that qualifies as a compliment,” Kurt said with a sardonic smile, “so,  _merci_ , Santana.”

[Blaine slid right up to Kurt](http://lesorientales.tumblr.com/post/37157638972/kurt-and-blaine-as-morticia-and-gomez-addams-for), grasping his hand.  “Darling,” he said, “you know I cannot resist you when you speak French.”

“ _Mon cher,”_ Kurt purred.

“ _Carrrra mia!_ ”

Santana just rolled her eyes in disgust as Blaine started pressing kisses all along Kurt’s extended arm.  And it definitely wasn’t because she was jealous that they got to spend Halloween together in their couple’s costumes while she had to settle for a picture of [Brittany](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gopKBwngpjY/TMa_Vw1AEuI/AAAAAAAACL8/rq6sonjPSB0/s1600/pink+devil.bmp) in her pink devil outfit.

She was greeted with a sight even more off-putting: [Rachel](http://img.costumecraze.com/images/vendors/rubies/888852-Sexy-Little-Red-Riding-Hood-Costume-large.jpg) beaming around at the room as she hung off of her new douche’s arm.  Santana had always thought Rachel had terrible taste in guys, and Brody gave her weird vibes.  He hadn’t done anything terrible yet, but with Rachel, it was basically playing a waiting game until her boyfriend broke her heart.  He was wearing a brown blazer over brown pants, his hair sticking up everywhere with a pair of animal ears nestled on his head, and some fake fangs in his mouth.

“Hi, everyone!” Rachel called, rushing over to them, Brody following after her.  He smiled at them all in greeting as Rachel gushed over how cute Kurt and Blaine were.  “How do you like our costumes?” She asked eagerly, fluffing her hair a little and clinging to Brody again.

“How apropos,” Kurt said, smirking, and Santana couldn’t help but agree.

“You two look great,” Blaine assured her.

“Hey everyone,” Mike said, joining the group with his friend [Kevser](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m70hx2lXiW1qas0x9o2_1280.jpg) at his side, “how’s the party?”

“Who are you supposed to be?” Santana asked after a chaotic moment of greetings and introductions every which way.

[Mike](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MdAPaacnkxk/ToohxxBRW-I/AAAAAAAAhPU/fK2kFFursfk/s800/KennyWormald%2Bfootloose%2BProm%2Bcostume.jpg) gave her a disbelieving stare.  “I’m Ren!”  He gestured to his retro tux.  “From Footloose!”

“We still need have that marathon, man,” Blaine reminded him.

“Totally! The next time Tina comes to visit, or we all go back to Lima-“

“Please don’t try to infect my boyfriend with your Footloose obsession,” Kurt said.

“What are we all still doing standing and talking here?” Kevser demanded.  She was already vibrating with energy.  “Let’s party!”

Mike hooted and grabbed her hand, leading the way, the couples trailing after them.  Just when Santana was starting to feel like the odd one out, Justin appeared by her side and dragged her over to the dancing area.

They all ended up in a big group anyway, laughing and shimmying and swiveling their hips in time with the music, cheering when Mike busted out some pop n’ locking.  Blaine’s eyes grew wide when he noticed karaoke was an option and he pulled Kurt along with him, beckoning others to follow with his hand.  Rachel was too busy making out with Brody, but Justin shouted to Santana: “Go on!  Wow the crowd!”  So she went to join them, Kevser grabbing onto her shoulders and following.

“Time for something a little spooky,” Blaine said into one of the mics.

The [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeen-08M4tU) started and the crowd cheered.

“ _What’s wrong with me?  Why do I feel like this?”_  Kurt drawled.

“ _I’m going crazy now!”_  Kevser sang, tossing her head.

 Santana laughed, drunk on the energy of the room, as she joined her friends in the song.

“ _No more gas in the rig…”_

“ _Can’t even get it started…_ ” Blaine backed her up.

They all looked ridiculous, she was sure, twitching and jerking their limbs in the spirit of the song.  But it was fun.  All four of them sang together on the chorus, striking poses and dancing to the whistles of the crowd.

“ _…so if you must falter, be wise: your mind’s in disturbia…_ ”

She missed Brittany so much it was painful.  NYU was big and anonymous and deep down she knew she was intimidated by a lot of the things in her new life in New York.  But she was also realizing the good things she had, like her nerdy, but sometimes cool, room mates.  And people who wanted to know her better.  And her own sense of freedom.

 

 

_“…not used to what you like, disturbia, Disturbia!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Crazy (Gnarls Barkley) by Santana, Blaine, Kurt, and the NYU Jazz Choir
> 
> Disturbia (Rihanna) by Santana, Kevser, Blaine, and Kurt

**Author's Note:**

> Song Order: We Go Together, Crazy, Disturbia


End file.
